


Trust

by dr_zofia_bites



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Banner Feels, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Bruce Banner-centric, Crying, Depression, Dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Bruce Banner, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Other, Pre-Relationship, Therapy, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Trust, again sort of?????, hulk is not a monster, it makes more sence when you read, its very light i promise, sort of???, when your best friend and crush turns into a child you take it in stride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22364287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr_zofia_bites/pseuds/dr_zofia_bites
Summary: Bruce is having a bit of a rough day, so he decides to trust Tony to help. Thankfully, the engineer is good with kids.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Bruce Banner/Tony Stark
Comments: 16
Kudos: 184





	Trust

**Author's Note:**

> so disclaimer: i do not have DID and my only real experience is through reading on the internet and seeing some system blogs on tumblr and the occasional talking to system's i know. not every DID case is like this and every system is unique. it is also entirely possible i've gotten something wrong, and if so, let me know
> 
> I'd like to thank [Sally0](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sally0/pseuds/Sally0) for being my beta for this! you were really helpful!  
> i'd also like to thank [44TayLo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/44TayLo/pseuds/44TayLo) for partially inspiring this fic with her portrayal of Robbie (i love him tay!!!)
> 
> and lastly, thank you for reading, and i hope you enjoy!!

If you asked him, Bruce wouldn’t be able to really tell you why he was having a bad day. He just woke up to an overcast day of gray clouds in his head. Everything felt muted, the usual strong smell of his morning tea now background noise and the usual brightly lit hallways of Stark Tower somehow dim. It almost felt like he was walking through fog, just going through the motions of his usual day but with no real intent behind them. 

It was kind of sad, because today was the first day of summer. Mom always loved summer and all the warmth it brought, the flowers in full bloom, the baby animals who were now walking along side their parents, no longer hidden newborns in the spring. Making frozen fruit pops had been a favorite activity they’d done together—orange being Bruce’s favorite. 

Oh. Oh, now Bruce felt really sad. He sort of missed the numbness. 

He had been half-heartedly sorting through data in his lab all day. It was the afternoon now if the time on his watch was right. Bruce hadn't even realized that much time had passed. He supposed he should be hungry, having unknowingly skipped lunch, but that was still masked by fog. 

The sadness was much more prevalent now. 

Usually, when Bruce thought about mom, it was bittersweet. He missed her, of course he did—he ached with how much he missed his mom—but after so long… the wound had scarred over, the reminder still there but no longer actively hurting. He could look upon it without causing it to bleed, think of her memory and her smile and feel happy instead of like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. All that was left was the ache. 

Today however… It was like his defenses were down. He was both numb and more sensitive than usual. His mind kept drifting to those aching thoughts and the cloudy day in his head was quickly turning into a thunderstorm, threatening to cause a meltdown. 

“No…” Bruce covered his face with his hands, curling up in his chair in an attempt to make himself smaller. 

There was a shift in Bruce’s mind, then. A small presence making itself— _himself_ known. It wasn’t Hulk—the big guy’s presence was _much_ bigger, like a weighted blanket, and it always made Bruce feel safe nowadays—but this… this would make him _vulnerable._ This would make him open and the ache that he could normally manage would turn to sobs. As much as Bruce may have secretly wanted to, he couldn’t let the little presence out without protection. 

Except… 

Tony was here today. And lord help him, Bruce had grown fond of the occasionally hyperactive engineer. Fond, and perhaps… he maybe even trusted Tony. 

It was well known that Bruce wasn’t quick to trust. He was only now, almost a year into this Avengers gig, beginning to relax. His teammates, well… he didn’t trust them completely but he at least trusted that they weren't out to get him. He watched their backs in battle, when Hulk wasn’t needed, and when the big guy was, he seemed to have accepted them as friends. The others weren’t scared of him anymore. It was new. 

Tony though… Bruce spent the most time with the engineer—almost every day they worked for hours in the lab on various projects. Working together was just easy… and so was talking. It was slow, but they each dropped little hints about themselves. Tony throwing out a casual comment about how he doesn't swim anymore, Bruce commenting that sunflowers were his mother’s favorite and he still made sure her grave had fresh ones every year. Little tidbits here and there that just made them grow closer. 

So maybe Bruce _did_ trust Tony. And maybe… he wanted to trust Tony _more._ He considered Tony a friend, and maybe his friend would be willing to help with this. 

“Hang on…” Bruce whispered to the little presence that was pressing to come out. He stood up and saved all his work (not that he’d gotten much done anyway), and shut the lights off as he left. 

“Jarvis, where’s Tony?” he asked as he entered the hallway. 

“Mr. Stark is in the kitchen,” the AI answered dutifully, though with a note of worry in his synthetic voice. “Shall I inform him that you are coming?”

“If you would, please…” with a destination in mind, Bruce took a deep breath and tried not to cry, clinging to the numbness while quietly assuring the little presence that he can come out soon. 

Bruce didn’t remember the walk to the kitchen. It both lasted for hours and was over in a second. One moment he was in the hallway outside his lab, and hours later, he was in the kitchen before he could blink his eyes. For some reason his face felt wet. 

“ _Oh my god_ —Bruce are you alright?” 

Before he knew it, Tony was right in front of him. Worry was plain on the engineers face, brows drawn up in sadness. Bruce had never really noticed Tony’s eyes until now, but the usual bright cocoa color was muted in concern. 

“You’re crying, are you okay?” Tony tried again, reaching up with a napkin (where did he get that?) to wipe the wetness away. 

“I am…?” Bruce blinked. Oh… right, he was. And he’d come here for a reason “I… I need you… Promise I’ll explain later…” it was getting harder to think, like the world was getting fuzzy. “Please take care of him…?” 

“W-who?” rightfully, Tony looked confused, but still nodded in assurance “Um, sure, I guess. Bruce what’s going—” before Tony could finish, Bruce hugged him.

And then he was gone. 

* * *

It had been a few months since Robbie’d been out. The last time was when Bruce went to a really nice lady in an office. Bruce had told Robbie he could trust her, and that she would ask him questions. She did, and she also gave him toys and a snack while they talked. Some of the questions had made him sad, but the lady had been nice about it.

This was the first time he’d been out in Tony’s home. And speaking of Tony, Robbie was hugging him while sitting in his lap.

“Hi…” the little boy whimpered softly, wiping his cheeks with his now too big sweater sleeves. 

Robbie noticed that Tony was silent for a moment, so he looked up, hoping he wasn’t mad. Bruce was still working up the courage to tell everyone about them, and Robbie felt a little bad for ruining the surprise. Thankfully, Tony didn’t look mad, just confused and surprised. 

“H-hi sweetie…” the term of endearment slipped out before Tony could catch it. “Who are you…?” 

“‘m Robbie. Bruce was sad about momma, so I came out… ‘m sorry we didn’t tell you earlier” he replied softly, sniffling. 

“That’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Even as he said this, Tony looked to be fighting off the urge to cry. This little yellow colored boy was just breaking his heart, so Tony decided he could use a distraction. “Hey, are you hungry? I can make you something.” 

Robbie nodded. That sounded really nice. He was hungry because Bruce hadn’t eaten all day, and he really wanted to cuddle and nap. He felt so sad, but it was okay now, because Tony was here, and Tony was really nice. 

“Okay, let’s get you a sandwich. That sound okay?” Tony stood with Robbie in his arms, settling the boy onto his hip. Huh, that felt sort of… natural. Nice. No time to focus on that though, he had a sad child version of his friend ( _???_ Tony was _really_ looking forward to the explanation for this later) to try and comfort.

“PB ‘n J…?” Robbie asked timidly. He snuggled into the hold, seeking the warmth of the larger body. 

“Of course! And after that we can watch some Disney movies and cuddle under some blankets, if you want.”

“Yes, please.” For the first time, Robbie smiled. It was slight, and a little sad, but he was glad Tony seemed to like him and was offering to cuddle. Robbie even felt safe, something that only Hulk really made him feel. This was nice, being held and cared for. It reminded him of momma, as well as how long it had been since he’d been hugged like this. 

This caused Robbie to let a few tears fall, but they didn’t hurt as much as before. 

* * *

When Bruce came to again, he was warm. He blinked his eyes open and quickly realized he was covered in a thick, fluffy blanket, and that he was cuddled up against Tony with his head on the engineer’s chest. 

Part of Bruce wanted to be embarrassed that this had happened, that he’d let his guard down so much. But another, smaller, more innocent part of his psyche… well, that little boy was contently sleeping, happy that he got to spend time out with Tony. And boy, wasn’t that a feeling? Having Robbie be content and safe. It made Bruce himself feel… lighter then he had all day. 

The fog was gone too. 

Bruce looked up at Tony and saw the engineer sleeping soundly, curled up with his own blanket. He was really happy that Tony stuck around with Robbie. It seemed his trust wasn’t misplaced.

With a happy sigh and a soft smile, Bruce snuggled back up under the blanket and went back to sleep. 

* * *

A few hours later, Bruce and Tony woke up. Bruce knew he owed Tony an explanation, so he made them both a light snack and some hot chocolate, and sat Tony down to chat. 

He started with the fact that he had DID. Bruce had been diagnosed months ago by his therapist, and he was still adjusting to this fact even now. He’d been building up the courage (and the trust) to tell Tony first. He would save the rest of the team for later, but Tony, well, they were friends. And yeah, he could confidently say he trusted Tony now, and he wanted to repay the trust Tony had given him the first time they met on the Helicarrier. 

After that, Bruce explained that there was more than just Hulk in his head. There were a few others personalities, alters, but the alter that Tony had met was Robbie, who was essentially him as an eternal child. 

“I… I hope he didn’t, ya know… freak you out,” Bruce sighed as he finished his ten minute long, mostly incoherent, verbal mess of an explanation. 

“I’ll admit, I was kinda startled and a little worried,” Tony said after a second. “And him being yellow was unexpected. But after I got past that... no, I wasn’t freaked out. He was cute,” he chuckled. 

Bruce ducked his head to hide his blush. “Ah, thank you” he settled on as a reply. 

“So… he’s you as a kid?” Tony’s question was hesitant, but no less curious. 

“Um, sort of?” Bruce considered how to answer this. “He’s… Robbie is the child that I never got to be. He’s supposed to just _be a child;_ an innocent and fun loving child that's allowed to cry and seek comfort for it... “ 

“...That’s both adorable and _really_ fucking sad” was all Tony could think to say. 

Bruce could only chuckle at that. “Ah, maybe. Maybe. I’m learning to accept it. This is how my mind needed to cope… and that’s okay” 

Slowly, Tony put his hand over Bruce’s, taking the other man’s hand into his own and squeezing comfortingly. Bruce smiled and squeezed back, appreciating the gesture. 

“So… Hulk…?” Tony asked. 

“Yep, another alter. He’s a protector, actually. That’s why I stopped arguing with everyone on when he’s needed, because protecting is literally why he exists, not destroying.” He paused to take a sip of his drink. “And I’ve been working on talking to him. We can talk when I’m meditating now, and I’m working on being able to do so while conscious too, both with Hulk and all the others.”

“Is that why Hulk’s been more chatty in battles?” Tony perked at this, looking excited “And why he’s getting better at talking!?”

“Also yes. I’ve been teaching him, and he’s learning fast.” Bruce gave a proud little smile. 

“That’s great!” Tony laughed a little “That’s _amazing!_ I always thought he could be taught, but I didn’t expect you to take the lead on teaching him—no offense.” 

“No, no, none taken. About seven months ago, I wouldn’t have. But therapy has been good to me… and Hulk is actually kind of funny,” Bruce chuckled. “He thinks the armor looks pretty.” 

“ _Ha!_ I’m glad he approves! If he ever wants a closer look he just has to ask!” Tony offered with a shiny grin. After a moment he sobered. “You mentioned earlier… there are others?”

Silently, Bruce nodded. “Yes. Just a few and… I know they exist, and they come out a bit… but I’m working on still talking to them? Making contact I mean. Sort of. I think one of them is named Joe. It’s very confusing, I’m sorry,” he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as he tried and failed to explain exactly how this all worked. 

“Hey, it’s cool Bruce,” Tony waved it off. “You’ll figure it out. I’m just glad you’re doing alright, okay? I may not get this weird brain shit completely, but as long as you’re okay, I can take it.” 

It was those words, said so flippantly yet so sincerely in the way only Tony Stark could, that made Bruce break out into a beaming smile. He was so glad Tony was taking this in stride, and he was grateful to his friend for taking care of Robbie. It felt really nice to be able to trust someone—Tony especially. 

“Thank you, Tony. For everything,” he said, achingly open. 

And within that moment, they locked eyes. Honey brown with cocoa brown, a spark of pure emotion flashing through them. A second later, their lips were gently pressing together. Tony was a really good kisser, Bruce thought, and his beard felt nice against his face. The kiss lasted barely more than a breath before it was over.

Bruce was the first to react, smiling shyly, a smitten giggle bubbling up from his throat. Then Tony smiled, giggling as well. Then they were kissing again.

Bruce was really glad he decided to trust Tony. 

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out the the Bruce Banter and Tony Snark discord server, you guys rock!!!


End file.
